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Emotions were high Thursday afternoon as parents, arriving to pick up their children from an east-end elementary school, were met instead by roadblocks and armed police officers.

“Nobody showed up outside the school to tell us what is going on,” said parent Ali Abedali. “We are worried. Everybody is very worried about what is going on.”

Police responded to a report that a child had seen a man with a gun in the bush lot behind Charles H. Hulse Public School around 3 p.m. The school was among four which were locked down for about an hour.

Dozens of officers responded, with several — including a canine unit — surrounding the bush lot and then thoroughly checking it thoroughly. No suspect or gun was found.

“I was driving by to pick up my daughter and the school was surrounded by police officers,” said parent Erikka Pallasch. “I asked a police officer what was going on and he said the school was on lock-down. That made me very panicky, obviously. My daughter’s only 5 and she’s in the school. When I heard someone saw some guy with a gun. That’s serious and scary.”

Charles H. Hulse Public School, Featherston Drive Public School, Alta Vista Public School and Ridgemont High School were all locked down.

The school board said the students were “never in any danger.”

The ones who take the bus, were all about 45 minutes late getting home.

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Emotions high during lockdown

Emotions were high Thursday afternoon as parents, arriving to pick up their children from an east-end elementary school, were met instead by roadblocks and armed police officers.

“Nobody showed up outside the school to tell us what is going on,” said parent Ali Abedali. “We are worried. Everybody is very worried about what is going on.”

Police responded to a report that a child had seen a man with a gun in the bush lot behind Charles H. Hulse Public School around 3 p.m. The school was among four which were locked down for about an hour.